PLASTIC EATING BACTERIA: A SOLUTION TO MICROPLASTICS?

Luis Gonzaga Carvajal García-Corona.

Abstract.

Synthetic plastics are part of our everyday life, but this has come with a cost, this non-

bio-degradable plastics are very resistant and thus they don’t degrade, they just break

onto little pieces. This microplastics have made their way onto the food we consume and

the habitats they reside, posing a real risk to the human health. this paper seeks to inquire

in the recently developed possibilities of using genetically modified bacteria capable of

degrading such materials.

Key words: Microplastics, Human Health, Bacteria, Genetic Engineering.

Introduction.

Plastic waste has become one of the most pressing environmental problems for

humanity, and in defiance with the predictions, the amount of waste created by plastic

has only increased. Right now, 400 million tons of plastic waste are produced each

year, and it is predicted to reach 1.100 million tons by 2050 (Widyastuti, 2018), of the

plastic waste produced right now, it is calculated that between 5 and 13 million metric

tons are present in our oceans (Blackburn & Green, 2022).

About 80% of all the plastic produced are the nonbiodegradable kind, such as

polyethylene (PE), terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

and polypropylene (PP) (Chackarborty et al, 2022) and despise the fact that this Petro

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plastics are a vital part of the world’s economy, the complications that come with their

extensive use must be tackled.

Petro plastics such as PVC are also harmful for the environment and human health

since it is known that PVC releases mercury, dioxins and phthalates, which can cause

long term damages such as cancer, immunodeficiency and reproductive problems

(Misraa & Mallick, 2020).

The degradation process of traditional plastics made from petrochemicals can be

separated in two categories, they are either broken down under pressure, UV radiation

or temperature (abiotic factors) or absorbed and divided by microorganisms (biotic

factors) (Wilkes & Aristilde. 2017).

By using certain types of bacteria such as the Ideonella Sakaiensis, plastics can also be

degraded and transformed onto nontoxic particles (Widyastuti, 2018), thus possibly

answering the pressing concerns that plastic waste represents in our world.

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Literature review.

The manufacturing of synthetic plastics has been one of the fastest growing businesses

of the world and although the fact that humanity has been using plastics for over a

century, mass production began in 1950 (Chakraborty et al, 2022), in 2015 synthetic

plastics reached a production of 335 million tons, and this number is expected to

quadruple by 2050 (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016).

Synthetic plastics have come to be an unbelievably valuable material because of its

industrial benefits, it also has become an important environmental concern for all,

because of assorted reasons, such as an improper disposal of the waste it produces and

the fact that its demand is following an exponential growth (Suaria et al. 2016). Main

concerns also include the fact that synthetic plastics are a nonrenewable source, and

POPs (Persistent Organic Pollutants) are easily absorbed by plastics, they are also

highly resistant to degradation and pose a major threat of injury or death to marine

birds, fish, mammal and reptiles as it debris becomes entangled or is ingested by those

animals (Karbaeli et al, 2018).

These concerns are mostly regarded to what is known as macroplastics, those bigger

than 5mm in any dimension (Blackburn & Green, 2022), but the other form of debris

that create plastic waste are the microplastic (MPs), which are smaller than 5mm and

larger than 1µm, these form of plastic waste is the most ample form of solid waste on

the planet (Hartmann et al, 2019).

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MPs are categorized based on their origin, primary MPs are designed to be micro sized,

we can find an example in the microbeads that are used in cosmetic products, the

secondary MPs are those created over time via mechanical weathering or

photodegradation (Hartmann et al, 2019).

MPs are everywhere, high concentration of MPs are even found in remote places far

from human populations, such as the polar regions (Pekeen et al, 2018), and in the

deepest parts of the ocean. Samples from the Mariana Trench showed that there were

between 200 to 2200 pieces per liter (Peng et al, 2018). MPs are so abundant that they

have entered the water cycle, thus reaching virtually everywhere in what is now known

as the plastic cycle (Horton & Dixon, 2018). MPs mostly affect the aquatic

environments and different studies show that indeed this MPs cause an adverse effect

on the environment (Lehner et al, 2019) and the ecosystem, it is estimated that over 220

species have been found ingesting MPs in natural conditions, with over 50% of them

being species with commercial significance (FAO, 2019).

Humans are also exposed to MPs; various studies have discovered the presence of MPs

in bottled water (Choudhary, Kurien, and Srivastava, 2020), The presence of MPs are

also found in soft drinks and beer (Kosuth, Mason, and Wattenberg ,2018; Shruti et al,

2020) and recently there are findings that MPs are also present in the flesh and the skin

of different fruits and vegetables (Oliveri Conti et al, 2020).

Now that the exposure of MPs have reached the human population, is important to shed

some light on the possible effects on their health and the risks MPs present.

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The exposure can be classified by its effect in three categories: chemical, physical, and

biological (Blackburn & Green, 2022).

There is evidence that suggests that MPs contain toxic additives capable of triggering

mutagenicity and carcinogenicity (Gasperi et al, 2019).

There are also adverse effects on the use of phthalates in plastics, they are used to give

more flexibility to plastics, and the studies suggest that there is certain correlation

between phthalates and the appearance of allergies and asthma, predominantly in

infants (Bamai et al, 2014), and have also shown to be a reproductive toxicant

associated to adverse birth results (Peretz et al, 2014).

The evidence indicates that MPs can be absorbed by different means, predominantly by

being ingested or inhaled. This studies show that MPs can cause an arrange of

problems, from not only the physical presence but also the microbial populations

transported by the MPs and the chemical problems MPs can cause, however, the

quantity of MPs that are actually inhaled and ingested, and therefore accumulated

inside the human organism, are yet unknown (Blackburn & Green, 2022).

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Solution.

The existing literature proves that plastic waste is one of the most important problems

humanity has to tackle to protect the environment, as of right now, the recycling

endeavors only cover a minimal part of the plastic waste problem, and often yields

disappointing results, in the form of low quality goods that rely on the use of

substantial amounts of virgin polymers and a greatly increased energy consumption

(Chakraborty et al, 2022).

The use of different organisms such as mealworms, fungi and bacteria are a safe and

reliable option to deal with the plastic waste problems, eliminating MPs from the

biosphere in an environmentally safe way, with little to no negative effects (Karbalaei

et al, 2018), one of these new promising solutions is the use of the bacterium Ideonella

Sakaiensis.

Ideonella Sakaiensis is a non-spore-forming, gram-negative, aerobic, rod shaped

bacteria with the capability to eat what was considered one of the most durable types of

material, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (Misraa & Mallick, 2020), from which the

majority of plastic is created, and using it as its major energy and carbon source

(Yoshida et al, 2016), with the capabilities of degrading PET at a higher rate and in a

stable temperatures of about 30º Celsius (Joo et al, 2018).

Research shows that this strain of bacteria was capable of growing on PET films with a

low crystalline phase and showing clear signs of degradation such as CO2 emissions

formed from PET catabolism, weight reduction and alterations to the morphological

structures of the compound (Chakarborty et al, 2022), then the bacterium metabolizes

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PET plastic onto ethylene glycole and terephthalic acid, commonly resultant molecules

from petroleum , meaning that not only this poses a possible solution to environmental

problems derived from plastic waste, but a new form of obtaining more plastic without

using more petroleum (Science X, 2017). It is also notable, that the biochemical

pathways used by ideonella Sakaiensis to thrive does not result in the emission of any

toxic compounds that could pose a threat to the ecosystem, notably in any aquamarine

structure and does not affect fish growth (Misraa & Mallick, 2020).

This bacterium almost looks like it was created with the sole purpose of degrading PET

plastic, which has only been around 70 years. It has been discussed that maybe the

enzymes responsible for the degradation of PET, have rapidly evolved in this short

period of time, given the necessity of the bacterium to find a new carbon and energy

source (Bornscheuer, 2016).

The capabilities of this bacterium obviously present a brilliant potential, regrettably,

because of a very restricted supported habitat, the abilities of this bacterium cannot be

applied to its full potential (Braun, 2016). Since this bacterium is usually located in

swamps, where plastic waste is rarely located, modifications in the form of genetic

engineering are needed to reach the bacterium full potential (Widyastuti, 2018).

Genetic engineering being the process of combining the genetic material found in the

DNA of different species to change different organisms onto producing required traits

(Genome.gov, 2023)

Introducing certain changes to the amino acid chain would result in a better and long-

lasting performance with an improved thermal stability (Urbanek et al, 2021).

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Also, by collecting the genetic material of a different bacteria, such as the Athotobacter

sp, wich shares a good deal of characteristics with Ideonella Sakaiensis, being also a

non endospore producer, negative-gram bacteria capable of surviving in soil or different

bodies of water, where plastic waste is usually found, and combining it with Ideonella

Sakaiensis so it can optimize the bacterium’s ability to degrade plastic (Wydiastuti,

2018), meaning that this new form of Ideonella Sakaiensis would be ready to expand

upon the environment itself without any risks (Wydiastuti, 2018) and properly attacking

the high concentrations of plastic waste all around the globe.

The discoveries made in Japan by Shosuke Yoshida and his colleagues poses a very

promising perspective on the future of plastic waste management, and also creates

certain hope on the possible discoveries of more microorganisms with different

degrading capabilities and the possible use of them (Science X, 2017).

Conclusion.

Due to the unexpected growth it has seen in the last century, plastic has become the

predominant form of waste around the world, and with no real measures to tackle it,

plastic waste has reached virtually every corner of the globe. Studies have proved the

adverse effects it has in our environment and the harmful consequences to the

biosphere, and although yet mostly unknown, plastic waste in the form of microplastics

represent a serious concern to human health, Microplastics have entered onto the

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humans ecosystem as well, constantly being inhaled or ingested by us, since they are

virtually everywhere, from the fish we eat to the water or even beer we drink to the

clothes we wear, the potential health risks presented by the possible toxic

contamination from the chemicals microplastics absorb from their environment or are

treated with is a very real threat, and one that is grievously understudied, presenting a

serious need for more research on the consequences of Microplastic pollution on

human health.

This study has focused on one of the most promising solutions, the recently discovered

capabilities of the bacterium known as Ideonella Sakaiensis, to consume and degrade

petrochemical derived plastics, such as Terephthalate (PET), and how this ability could

not only create a solution to plastic waste per se, but also creates an alternative way to

produce more plastic without depending on the use of more petroleum.

Since this particular bacteria only survives in certain, specific areas, such as swamps,

the need to genetically modify it, combining it with more common bacteria, capable of

surviving in almost any environment, creating a stronger form of Ideonella Sakaiensis

capable of thriving in any environment where plastic waste is located, from the

different body waters to the contaminated soils.

Although research is relatively scarce, because of the bright possibilities this bacterium

present, there is no doubt that more research will be conducted, and possibly, giving a

solution to one of the most pressing environmental problems humanity is facing right

now, and turning the tides on what seems to be a losing battle.

Nevertheless scientific research cannot be our only hope when facing this battle, there

is a need to create a common front against this problem, starting with the creation of

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national and international regulations that can protect the critical environmental

threshold, ensuring its limit is not surpassed, and limiting and reducing the single-use

plastics production and creating viable solutions to propper waste management,

incentivizing the big industries to stop using non-biodegradable products and create

effective recycling policies, such as the creation of incentives for reusing or returning

plastic bottles, as seen in Germany.

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